Josh Caygill concluded his second season in the Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup at Donington Park Grand Prix circuit as an exasperated spectator.

The Netherton racer was left at the side of the track after contact in the final race of the 2014 campaign robbed him of a top six finish.

In what has been a luckless sophomore year in cars for the ex-British Supersport motorcycle racer, the Volkswagen Scirocco driver was the victim of contact in each of the weekend’s contests at the Leicestershire track and he ultimately ended the season eighth in the championship on 292 points.

Frustratingly, the Netherton sportsman was prevented from capitalising on outstanding starts to both races which put him squarely in the battle for top six results in rounds 13 and 14. With the pace to challenge among the front-runners, Caygill’s end results weren’t indicative of his true speed.

“The way this weekend ended summed up our year really”, said the 24-year-old, “I had the pace to be right up there, we made good starts but then got wiped out through no fault of our own. It’s been a frustrating season with one thing and another, just one you have to put down to experience.”

Starting round 13 on Sunday morning from eighth on the grid, Caygill made a great getaway from the line and managed to climb into seventh position before attacking for sixth at the end of the first lap at Goddards. Unable to quite make the pass stick, he was then edged wide at Redgate on lap two and the delay dropped him down to the tail of the top 10.

Running in 11th place at the start of the third tour and determined to get back into the lead group, the West Yorkshireman moved into the top 10 on the run out of the Old Hairpin up to Schwantz Curve and became embroiled in a see-saw battle.

Then, at the end of lap seven, hopes of a strong finish were dashed when his Scirocco was hit under braking at Goddards. Recovering in 14th position, Caygill concluded the opening contest in 13th place which wasn’t at all a reflection of his pace.

“I didn’t get a bad start to the first race and I run quite a hard set-up on the car, it always comes to me towards the end of the race so it was looking good”, explained Caygill, “I was sat on the back of the lead group, it was going well, and then a car went up the inside at the last corner, really late, and put me off – another race done!”

Beginning round 14 from the seventh row of the grid, as per his finishing position from race one, he made a fantastic start and fortunately avoided Stefan Di Resta’s stalled car ahead to surge into ninth position. Climbing into eighth before the end of lap one, the race was then red flagged following a multi-car tangle further behind at Goddards which resulted in a car flipping onto its side.

After a delay, the drivers formed back up on the grid in their original order although Caygill was effectively in 11th place due to a couple of non-starters. Making another terrific start at the second time of asking, he sliced his way through to eighth into the first corner and was into the top six on the run out of the Old Hairpin.

Sandwiched between Robert Barrable and Howard Fuller, he maintained sixth place until lap five when Fuller got ahead but Caygill immediately tried to fight back and regained the spot a couple of laps later. Edged to seventh again, his race then ended in the gravel on the outside of the track at the entry to McLeans on lap 10 when a slow-moving car returning to the track caused chaos.

“There were a couple of drivers having a battle and after they touched at the Old Hairpin, one of them rejoined doing about 30mph on the racing line”, explained Caygill, “I was battling with [Howard] Fuller, I was right behind him going up to Schwantz, and as we rounded the left up the hill the slow car was just there – Fuller went to the left, so I went to the right onto the grass.

“That sent me sideways and I ended up coming back across the circuit. Luckily I missed everyone apart from Sam Morgan who had nowhere to go and slammed into my car. It’s such a frustrating way to end the season, we had the pace for two good results this weekend but it wasn’t to be.”

While his second season in the Milltek Sport Volkswagen Racing Cup has now concluded, Josh still has one more race to go in his dovetailed Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup campaign with the final event of the European season taking place at Hockenheim in Germany on October 18-19.